Maybe we should really be calling the new six-wheeled Tigercat 625E the ‘Goldilocks’ skidder.

That’s because it sits right in the sweet spot for harvesting operations like Southland’s Bluewood Logging; it’s not too small that it struggles to pull wood effectively and it’s not too big that it might be regarded as overkill.

It’s just right.

Well, that’s how Bluewood Logging’s owner, Clint McIvor, sees it. And, having completed our Iron Test of his new 625E, the first to arrive in New Zealand, we think that he may just be right, too.

The 625E bridges the gap between the existing six-wheeled models in the Tigercat stable, the 615E and the big, range-topping 635G.

Both of those models have been out for a while – more than a decade for the 635 and five years for the 615 – though they’ve gone through a series of updates over the years. In that time, Tigercat has reigned supreme in the six-wheel-drive skidder market, with no challenges as yet from their green and yellow rivals.

So Tigercat could be forgiven for making hay while the sun shines and adding another arrow to the skidder quiver.

And it could just be that the Canadian manufacturer has saved its best for last...